Norsewood crash lands Hamilton woman in court after falling asleep at wheel

A Hamilton woman has appeared in Dannevirke District Court following a crash at Norsewood.

A crash at Norsewood three weeks ago landed a Hamilton woman in Dannevirke District Court on Friday.

Shaquoia Rangiwhetu, 22, was charged with careless driving causing injury, but this was amended to careless driving.

Counsel Darren Foster said Rangiwhetu held a learner's licence and had no previous convictions.

At the time of the accident, Rangiwhetu had her sister and her niece in the car.

She hadn't had much sleep the night before and fell asleep at the wheel.

"She was absolutely gutted," Foster told the court.

Her vehicle was written off and her sister and niece were injured. They had since recovered, the court was told.

Judge Lance Rowe said there was one way to resolve this matter.

"I will discharge this matter if you donate $100 to St John Ambulance. They need money and I assume they helped you out following the accident."

Rangiwhetu was excused from court while she made the payment to St John through Westpac Bank and returned to the courtroom later in the day with a receipt.

"I'm sure what happened scared the daylights out of you," Judge Rowe said to Rangiwhetu.

"Make sure you keep safe on the road."